Design of Biochar-nZVI/Graphene Nanosheet for Ciprofloxacin Degradation

The antibiotic ciprofloxacin (CIP) is a non-biodegradable pharmaceutical compound that can pollute the environment, cause microbial resistance, and disrupt the photosynthesis process. Waste containing this material must be degraded before being discharged into the environment. A material that is quite promising for degrading the antibiotic ciprofloxacin is biochar-nZVI/graphene nanosheet. Biochar-nZVI/graphene nanosheet was successfully synthesized using the starting materials of rice husk, iron sulfate heptahydrate, and graphite to prepare biochar, nZVi, and graphene nanosheet, respectively. The composite product formed from these three components, biochar-nZVI/graphene nanosheet, was characterized using XRD, FTIR, and SEM-EDX. The synthesized product was tested for degradation of the antibiotic ciprofloxacin by activating persulfate (PS) from peroxydisulfate (PDS). The results show that biochar-nZVI/graphene nanosheet can significantly degrade the antibiotic ciprofloxacin. The radical species •SO4- and •OH play an important role in the degradation of this antibiotic.